I’ve never seen the film Amelie so I can’t make any cute puns about the name of this skirt to enchant this opening, but I’ll give you a minute to think of something witty yourself to enjoy and then we’ll move on, okay?
…Done? Awesome, let’s get to it!
It’s been a long time since I’ve owned a dress and bolero set, and my god, I didn’t realise how much I’d missed it! Hark, let us wait no longer, behold!
I’ve wanted to try Vixen’s Vacation dress since it was first released but I made a conscious decision last year to scale back the amount of clothing I buy, and as such I hadn’t yet been able to justify the purchase.
I don’t enter competitions to win freebies on social media because I don’t think that would be fair given that I get gifted items regularly to review here on the blog. However my friend Kat entered Vixen’s Thanksgiving Tag a BFF Instagram contest and because I was the friend she tagged we both won a $100 vixen gift voucher. Vixen then launched their 20% off Black Friday sale, and suddenly I could snap up a Vacation dress guilt-free! Obviously I’ll go into the real details below, but the short verdict? It’s as great as everyone says it is!
I love it when a brand has one or more staple dress styles that they release each season in new colours and prints. It’s great when you find a dress that ticks all your boxes, anyway, but knowing that you’re able to grab that dress in other colourways allows you to expand your wardrobe for different occasions safe in the knowledge that you’re going to feel really comfortable in them all. Dolly & Dotty constantly release their staple dress shapes in tons of new prints and I love how varied their winter selection is in this Amanda dress.
I have incredibly low patience as a person. When I go shopping I prefer to go alone so that I can walk fast, duck in and out of shops quickly without having to wait for the person I’m shopping with, and leave as soon as I’ve got what I need. It is no surprise, then, that I’ve never got the hang of vintage shopping. I live in a tiny village tucked away in the English countryside, so shopping for vintage in person would mean driving all the way out to larger towns I’m not super familiar with, and thus, journeys that would fill me with anxiety. Add in the fact that my size means finding good quality vintage clothing in my size and within my budget is unlikely and that effort just doesn’t seem worth it.
Vintage accessories, at least, are something I could likely have more success with, but once you consider that low patience level, the potential high travel anxiety level, and my overall lack of true vintage knowledge, once more the trips just don’t seem worth it. Searching out accessories online at least eliminates one of those factors, but still, it takes a lot of time and more than some savvy to find what you need or want in the pages and pages and pages of vaguely related results produced from every search term. This, folks, is why I am so ecstatically pleased that I stumbled upon Belbeina Lee a few months back. Never again do I need to search, research, ponder, wonder or worry–Katie can handmake items just as beautiful and high quality as true vintage, but with no effort required on my part. Literally, take my money!
One of the things that ladies new to wearing vintage styles often ask me is how I wear the styles in winter while keeping warm. Usually my advice is to layer up as much as possible, both in the visible aspects of the outfit but also underneath, with tights/stockings and even layering slips and vests if possible and needed. I don’t run particularly cold myself so it’s never been a huge problem for me to go out for dinner in the dead of winter in a swing dress and cute little flats, but as of last winter I made a style change that I’d definitely add to my recommendations moving forward; get some cute knee high boots.
Miss Candyfloss pieces can sell out fast–so fast, in fact, that often a piece is entirely sold out before my order reaches my hands, let alone before I can even hope to shoot it and get up a review for you. Because of that today I’m doubling up in today’s post, before these dresses have a chance to sell out! So let’s take a look at the Tatum-Lee and the Edelie-Tea-Burgundy.
The fact that Miss Candyfloss release a Lookbook well in advance of each season is both a blessing and a curse; the former because it allows you time to plan out your purchases for the season according to your budget, and the latter because when you spot an item that captures your heart it can feel like an eternity passes waiting for its release. There’s always a dozen items I covet in each lookbook, easily, but this Monroe-Lee was my favourite of them all, which is saying something considering the Marilyn inspired Autumn-Winter line of this season has been my favourite ever of all of Miss Candyfloss’s gorgeous lines. I can imagine it’s hard to live up to such anticipation and praise, but this dress does so easily.
Once upon a time (ie, my whole life up until about a year ago) I thought I couldn’t wear pinafores, but thanks to Hell Bunny I know that’s not true. Because come on, a pinafore that has adjustable straps, a full skirt, comes in cute checks, and it has pockets? That’s a pinafore that will work for anyone!
I’ve heard it said that everyone has a base colour they build their wardrobe around, either black, navy, brown or grey. I’ve never felt I had an overwhelming pull towards any of those neutrals but if I look at my wardrobe on the whole I can definitely see that I’ve ended up with black as my neutral base. It might be funny, then, to consider that the past couple months I’ve become a bit obsessed with trying to add greys and browns to my collection, and have become increasingly frustrated with the limited options. Can I find a brown tweed swing skirt anywhere? No. A plain grey one then? No!
Thankfully, though my search for separates has been disappointing, my beloved Miss Candyfloss is happy to lead the charge with beautiful grey dresses that could never disappoint.
